Sports activities Mole previews Tuesday’s Champions League conflict between Actual Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, together with predictions, group information and attainable lineups.

A rematch of the 2023-24 Champions League ultimate, holders Actual Madrid and hopefuls Borussia Dortmund renew hostilities in Tuesday’s league section encounter on the Bernabeu.

It has been nearly 5 months since Carlo Ancelotti‘s males broke BVB hearts to win European Cup quantity 15, because the German giants have been left to lament missed probability after missed probability at Wembley.


Match preview

© Imago

All the time possessing the components for Champions League success, irrespective of how robust the going will get, Actual Madrid conquered the continent for the fifteenth time final season, when Dortmund didn’t make their dominance pay earlier than being hit with two second-half sucker punches.

Nonetheless, Los Blancos’ powers have waned ever so barely this time period, as on matchday two of the 2024-25 version, they have been consigned to their first loss in Europe’s premier competitors since Could 2023, when a Jonathan David strike earned Lille a well-known 1-0 victory.

The reigning champions had not less than obtained the higher of Dortmund’s Bundesliga rivals Stuttgart 3-1 of their opening match of the event, however their three-point haul is presently not even adequate for a seeded knockout place; they sit seventeenth within the 36-team desk at this fledgling stage.

Ancelotti’s males have give you the required responses to that shock setback in opposition to Les Dogues, although, defeating Villarreal and Celta Vigo in La Liga both aspect of the worldwide break; the latter triumph noticed them quickly transfer degree on factors with leaders Barcelona – whom they face in El Clasico on the weekend – on the high of the desk.

Los Blancos’ 17-month unbeaten sequence within the Champions League might now be a factor of the previous, however not since April 2022 have they misplaced a top-level European dwelling match, though they’ve didn’t maintain a clear sheet of their final 5 continental clashes on the Bernabeu.

Borussia Dortmund boss Nuri Sahin during his side's game against Celtic, on October 1, 2024© Imago

If solely Dortmund had displayed comparable ranges of ruthlessness in opposition to Actual Madrid as they did in opposition to Celtic earlier this month, BVB might have been heading to the Spanish capital this week with Champions League medals round their necks, as Nuri Sahin‘s males have been in seventh heaven in opposition to Brendan Rodgers‘s troops.

After Daizen Maeda cancelled out an early Emre Can opener, Dortmund went on the warpath, as Liverpool-linked Karim Adeyemi helped himself to a hat-trick whereas Serhou Guirassy (two) and Felix Nmecha additionally obtained in on the act for final season’s vengeful runners-up.

Having additionally put three unanswered objectives previous Membership Brugge on matchday one, Sahin’s aspect are presently main the way in which on the high of the 36-team desk due to their considerably superior objective distinction over the opposite six sides to have received each of their first two video games.

Dortmund’s European excellence has are available distinction to their blended home outcomes; the guests nearly managed to scrape a nervy 2-1 win over St Pauli on the weekend, however they’ve misplaced their final two away video games within the Bundesliga to Stuttgart (5-1) and Union Berlin (2-1).

An undesirable highway document may now be set by Dortmund within the Champions League, as they’ve visited the Bernabeu seven instances with out ever managing to win, dropping 5 instances and drawing twice; no aspect has didn’t triumph of their first eight Champions League video games at a single away venue.

Actual Madrid Champions League kind:

Actual Madrid kind (all competitions):

Borussia Dortmund Champions League kind:

Borussia Dortmund kind (all competitions):


Crew Information

Real Madrid defender David Alaba on August 14, 2024© Imago

With Kylian Mbappewho has lately been named as an affordable suspect in an alleged rape case in Sweden, accusations he vehemently denies – making a full restoration from a muscular drawback, Actual are solely lacking their three identified absentees for Tuesday’s sport in Dani Carvajal (knee), David Alaba (knee) and Brahim Diaz (abductor).

Carvajal’s season-ending surgical procedure has raised hypothesis that Actual may pursue a January deal for Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, however Lucas Vazquez is holding the fort in the meanwhile.

One change to the Blancos’ beginning XI might come on the alternative aspect of defence, the place Ferland Mendy ought to change Fran Garcia, whereas Rodrygo may also be eyeing a return to the XI, probably in Aurelien Tchouameni‘s place after the Frenchman left Monday’s coaching session early as a consequence of discomfort.

In the meantime, Adeyemi’s heroic hat-trick efficiency in opposition to Celtic got here at a price, because the German suffered a extreme hamstring harm at first of the second half and isn’t anticipated to be again in motion till the tip of November.

Adeyemi is joined within the Dortmund infirmary by Julien Duranville (thigh), Giovanni Reyna (groin) and Yan Couto (muscle), whereas Pascal Gross and Niklas Sule are each on the uncertain listing; the previous needed to be taken off at half time within the win over St Pauli, however each have skilled.

Both Nmecha or the up-and-coming Jamie Bynoe-Gittens ought to fill in for Gross if wanted; if the latter performs and scores, he would develop into the youngest English participant to ever bag a objective in opposition to Actual Madrid within the UCL, breaking the document set by a 20-year-old Alan Smith for Leeds United in 2001.

Actual Madrid attainable beginning lineup:
Courtois; Vazquez, Militao, Rudiger, Mendy; Bellingham, Tchouameni, Valverde; Rodrygo, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

Borussia Dortmund attainable beginning lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Can, Sabitzer; Malen, Brandt, Gittens; Guirassy


SM words green background

We are saying: Actual Madrid 1-0 Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund realized a harsh lesson about what occurs if you don’t take your probabilities in opposition to Actual Madrid, they usually have greater than made up for these deficiencies within the Champions League up to now this time period, even when Membership Brugge and Celtic don’t fairly stack as much as Los Blancos’ mastery.

Nonetheless, Sahin’s males have been too inconsistent and frail on the again for us to imagine that the end result of Tuesday’s sport might be any totally different, and BVB’s 100% UCL document ought to come to a swift finish on the Bernabeu, even when there is only one objective in it.

For information evaluation of the most certainly outcomes, scorelines and extra for this match please click on right here.


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